Munchies Alert: Roy Choi’s Oreo-Crusted Chicken Tenders

Since when is a cookie a suitable dinner? Probably since Oreo asked Roy Choi to turn their cookies into the best savory snack we’ve tried in a long time. The recipe was part of a three-chef Snack Hacks challenge to use the retro classic as an ingredient in an entirely new dish.

Los Angeles-based chefs Michael Voltaggio, Nguyen Tran and Choi stepped up at a media event last week, morphing the cookie into dessert nachos with a lemony cookie-filled shandy (courtesy of Voltaggio) and a no-bake bread pudding (Tran). But it was Choi’s clever Oreo-crusted chicken tenders that left us thinking that cookies might actually have a place in savory cooking.

Known as the Midnight Hack (a fitting moniker for a chef who rose to fame with drunk-food-favorite Korean tacos on his Kogi truck), the panko-, parsley- and Golden-Oreo-crusted tenders were an oddly appealing mix of sweet and salty, especially when plunged into the chef’s spicy banana habanero ketchup. It’s a pretty great option for late-night drunk food or, really anytime-of-the-day munchies.

Still trying to wrap your brain around savory Oreo tenders? If they don’t appeal Choi also told us his personal favorite way to eat the cookies: “With ice cream that’s been thawed, then I pour ice-cold almond milk over it and crush a bunch of Oreos on top, and mix it all together for an adventure of a lifetime.”

Pulse the cookie wafers in a food processor until fine.
Mix crumbs, panko and parsley in plastic bag. Season with salt and pepper.
Put flour and eggs on separate plates.
Coat chicken cutlets in flour, then dredge in beaten eggs.
Add cutlets to cookie-breadcrumb mix and coat well.
Heat oil in frying pan (the oil is hot enough when a pinch of breadcrumbs sizzles when added to the pan). Fry breaded cutlets until cooked through (about 4 minutes per side). Serve immediately with hot mustard.